


Dead Man Walking

by wckdcoyote



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, AU Teen Wolf, Celebrity AU, College AU, F/M, Rockstar AU, Sister's best friend, Stalia, Stalia AU, Teen Wolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-08 16:19:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12868332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wckdcoyote/pseuds/wckdcoyote
Summary: Malia rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, scrolling deep into her past messages to get to the last time she’d texted Liv Stilinski.Going to your brother’s concert tomorrow night, miss you!It wasn’t a lie. She really did miss her endlessly. They would spend every moment of every day together, practically joined at the hip. She knew full and well that Stiles would remember her - there’s no way he wouldn’t. But what Lydia and Liv didn’t know about, and what she was hoping she herself would forget, was how she felt about him.





	1. Living it up in Albany

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, inspired by Jon Bellion's song Dead Man Walking. I highly suggest you listen first, but keep in mind will also spoil the next chapter (c'mon, you knew where this was going anyway).
> 
> Sorry through this is short as fuck. I got a sudden burst of inspiration and scrambled through this first chapter. I'll be updating within the week! 
> 
> Thank you Lauren and Liz for suffering through some bad and rushed writing to give your opinion on this concept / chapter. Love you guys endlessly <3

 

“You’re friends with him right?”

 

“That’s not what I said.” She set the dish in the drying rack and furrowed her brow, trying to concentrate on the grease covered frying pan that she just picked up despite Lydia’s distractions.

 

“Ok, but you know him? Like, you’ve met him.”

           

Malia sighs and stops mid scrub, setting the pot down and turning to face the girl. After living with Lydia for well over three years now, she knew well enough that until you gave her attention, she wouldn’t quit.

 

“I’ve told you this. He’s my best friend's brother. She and I don’t really talk much anymore since I left for school, so I’m sure he’s forgotten I exist. Now are you going to sit on the counter and fire useless questions or are you going to help me with these?” Malia’s lips twitched into what was almost a smile as she threw a dish towel at her.

 

Ignoring Malia’s attempt at a subject change, Lydia caught the towel and hopped down, moving towards the sink to pick up a wine glass.

 

 “I still think we should go.” She sang, raising her eyebrows and side-glancing Malia. “I’m sure he remembers you. And even if he doesn’t, c’mon, it’s a free concert.”

 

“No one goes to those.” She was running out of reasons to say no. It was the middle of the summer, so schoolwork wasn’t an excuse, and she’d just been fired from her barista job at the school’s coffee shop. As stubborn as Malia was, she hated wasting time far more than not getting her way, and she knew that she would be fighting her roommate on this for hours before ultimately getting dragged to it anyway.

 

“You know what? Fine. But I’m not trying to talk to him.” She threw the sponge back on the dish and turned to look at Lydia. “And you’re finishing these.” As she walked away from the sink and towards her room, she saw her grin smugly.

Malia rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, scrolling deep into her past messages to get to the last time she’d texted Liv Stilinski.

 

_Going to your brother’s concert tomorrow night, miss you!_

It wasn’t a lie. She really did miss her endlessly. They would spend every moment of every day together, practically joined at the hip. She knew full and well that Stiles would remember her - there’s no way he wouldn’t. But what Lydia and Liv didn’t know about, and what she was hoping she herself would forget, was how she felt about him.

 

 *****

 

“I should have taken a Xanax.” Malia mumbled to herself, twisting the loose strand of thread that was hanging off her dress around her fingers. Her anxiety was at an all-time high, and she knew it would be, but for the sake of her air of aloofness, she kept from taking anything for it.

“What?” Lydia said above the loud music the Uber was playing. “Excuse me, can you please turn that down?” The man apologized and lowered it, but not before Lydia was able to mutter something under her breath about this being a car, not a nightclub.

 

“Nothing.” She said, lifting her head to smirk at her friend. “I’m glad we’re going. Hopefully he’s just better live than he was when he played for us in his garage.” _That’s it,_ She thought to herself. _Joke the panic attack away._

 

Lydia scoffed at her attempt at humor. “I knew you were closer with him than you let on, he sang for you before, you must have been friends.”

 

Malia didn’t answer, resting her head on the cool glass of the car window until they pulled into the venue.

 

******

 

Three shots and one opening act later, there he was. Malia stood there, fixated on the familiar figure run onto the stage into his opening song. Everyone was cheering and began dancing, immediately feeding off the energy, but all she could do was stand there. She felt a lump form in her throat as her heart fluttered, and she cussed at herself for unearthing the feelings she worked for years to bury.

 

“Dance you fucking weirdo,” Lydia shoved her playfully, laughing as she cheered for him.

Malia shook herself out of it and took a long swig of the beer in her hand, forcing herself to feel the rhythm over her stupid high school crush emotions.

 

Two songs went by and he paused to breathe and thank the crowd for coming, telling some stupid story about how Albany drivers were far better than those in Los Angeles. Amidst the reaction that warranted from the audience, his eyes scanned through the crowd.

 

Her heart nearly stopped. The honey brown eyes that used to give her butterflies back in 9th grade fell directly on her, causing his brows to raise in surprise. He stared for a little too long before he seemed to remember where he was and shook himself out of it to lead into the next song in the set, an upbeat feel good song that most of the crowd knew.

 

“Shit.” Malia pressed her eyes closed and grabbed Lydias arm, pursing her lips before whipping her head to glare at her. “I knew this was a bad idea, did you see that? He thinks I’m a fucking stalker.”

 

Lydia dismissed what she said with a wave and continued to dance. “Relax. He was probably just surprised.”

 

And with that, the rest of the songs came and went and Malia gradually fell back into rhythm.

 

“Thank you Albany! You guys were awesome!” He grinned that same half-smirk grin that always made girls in his year swoon and waved to the crowd before blowing a kiss and running back off stage. Just like that, it was over.

 

“Alright, let’s go.” Malia turned to leave before Lydia grabbed her by the arm and stopped her, still facing the stage.

 

“You’re not going to say hi?”

 

“Uh, no? He already thinks I’m weird for coming, we’re not making this any more awkward than it needs to be.” She pushed through and tried getting through to the one set of doors that every person in the audience was using before she turned to realize that Lydia wasn’t behind her.

 

“What the fuck.” She mumbled, trying to push back against the crowd and track down the strawberry blonde. “Lydia I swear to Go-“ Her voice cut out. From behind the metal barricade, there was her roommate, speaking to none other than Stiles Stilinski.


	2. She Came to Show Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I had finals and just got home. I kind of muddled through this chapter, but the next will come soon. I'm thinking this will have five chapters, there's not exactly a lot to write about! Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a comment or kudos :) they keep me going.

Stiles POV:

 

Too long. He pried his eyes away from her though every part of him wanted to take a second look. In the middle of the concert Stiles? Really? He tried to continue the story he was telling. Some part of Stiles knew there was a chance she would show up. But it had been _years._ He hardly believed that anyone liked his music enough to go to his concerts, much less the girl that had been subjected to years of shitty band practices that were definitely audible from his sister’s bedroom.

Scrambling back into his set, he picked right into the next song and tried not to get distracted by her again. His mind, however, raced into that spiral that he hadn’t experienced in years. _What did that mean?_

She was probably dragged there by a friend, the same way she had no choice but to listen to him play when she was over his house in middle school. But what if she wasn’t?

If he had to guess, the rest of the set was mediocre at best. Not that he was doing anything other than robotically churning out what he’d practiced for. Before he knew it, it was over and he stepped off the stage, only to be greeted immediately by a pretty, strawberry blonde girl who seemed a little too starstruck for his level of popularity.

Stiles gave it his best, trying to sound  enthusiastic about meeting her to not sound like the jackass he was for trying to scan the room for Malia while he was talking to her.

“I think you know my roommate.”

That caught his attention real quick. “Really? Who’s your roommate?” In the split second that he took his eyes off the crowd, the familiar voice sounded above the rest.

“Lydia I swear to Go-“

She stopped dead in her tracks and he swallowed hard. That couldn’t be good. She couldn’t have seemed more miserable in that moment. He flashed a grin at her and found his words again. “Hey, Malia.” It was as natural as he could forge, hoping to get some reaction out of her other than dread. Damn, was she really that unhappy to see him?

Her features melted slightly and she smiled back, walking forward again. “Hey.” She paused longer than he would have liked and he ran his fingers through his hair, fumbling for some other stupid small talk question to ask her before they both began speaking at the same time.

“Ah, sorry. Um, I was just gonna ask how you’ve been.” He smiled sheepishly and dropped his hand back to his side. The girl, Lydia, rolled her eyes and shoved Malia lightly. She’d always been a little on the awkward side, but there was no reason for him to be just as weird. For her, it was cute and endearing. But he just looked like a fucking idiot.

“You know what? Why don’t we go backstage, it’s a little loud.” He forced a laugh and gestured to the campus cop to move the guard rail for them.

“Absolutely!” Lydia answered enthusiastically for them both. Malia, again, seemed like that was the last thing she wanted to do. He bit his lip. How was he managing to make this worse than it was?

The farther they got away from the stage, the better they could hear the growing silence. He cleared his throat and asked again. “So how’ve you been? It’s been, what, 5 years? That’s crazy, I used to see you every day of the week.” Rambling, his thoughts always poured out of him when he got nervous.

“Good, yeah, it’s been good.” She paused. “And I know, it’s been too long. I haven’t seen Liv in forever.”

Ah right, Liv. She probably didn’t really give a shit about talking to him. They were only ever friends because of his sister.

“I mean, you too of course. God, it feels like ages.” She seemed to jolt right back into that, putting him somewhat at ease.

The three of them sat back in a dressing room and talked for what felt like hours, even if he and Malia seemed to be talking the least. Finally it seemed like Lydia had enough of talking and mentioned how she _did_ have an exam for her summer class tomorrow. “But you both keep talking! You have much more to catch up on.”

“I was actually planning on checking out that bar on Main Street, if you wanted to join. Only if you want.” He added the last part quickly, his gaze settling on Malia.

Her lips twitched into a smile and she shrugged. “Sure. That could be fun.” He grinned and turned back to Lydia, trying not to be entirely rude about it. “We can give you a ride of course.”

Thank God. Somehow he’d muddled through any kind of awkwardness and would have a chance to just talk like they used to… if you could even call brief conversations and joking “talking”. Years had passed and he always had that regret that it was never something more, though how could he ever try to make his sister’s best friend into anything more than that?

 

Malia’s POV:

 

Why did she just say yes. Why would she do that? She’s now taking her best friend’s brother, who she’s had a crush on for literally years, to a bar. If that didn’t spell out a bad decision what did?

“Your roommate seems nice.” He turned to her in the uber and she caught sight of those beautiful brown hues.

“She is. She can just be a bit overzealous sometimes.” It was entirely serious, but he laughed.

“I can tell. I felt kind of bad talking to her because she didn’t exactly have all my attention.”

She cursed herself for the blush that rose to her cheeks and turned to face the road in front of them. That meant nothing how she interpreted it as. “Yeah, well It’s not every day you just bump into old friends at your concert.” _Or was it?_ “You probably think I’m some stalker, right?” She smirked and side glanced him, though the humor in her voice had some trickle of truth to it.

“For sure.” He deadpanned and shook his head before turning to look at her. “I mean I can’t believe you followed me into my dressing room.”

She wrinkled her nose the same way she used to whenever he teased her and hit his arm. “And I can’t believe you target your fans. That’s an abuse of power.”

“Oh, so that’s what you think this is? I’m trying to get you alone?” The teasing tone was still in his voice, but she immediately bit her lip and turned away.

“Maybe.” She cleared her throat and tried her best to retain the joking expression she had.

The bar was decently crowded seeing as it was just after the concert, but their drinks came quickly. “I didn’t realize it’d be so packed.” Stiles grimaced for a moment  before twitching his lips into a smirk. He picked up his shot glass in a toast. “To old friends.”

She pressed her lips into a thin smile and lifted her own glass, preparing herself for inevitable discomfort. She wasn’t a drinker, and it most definitely showed.

“Damn, Malia, I thought you’d be more of a partier.” Stiles teased her again and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“You know me so well!” She said sarcastically, a shiver running through her spine as she suppressed a gag. “Lydia definitely did most of the talking back there, but you didn’t really say much about all this.” She gestured to nothing but he seemed to get the idea.

“It’s different for sure. Fame didn’t really get to my head enough for me to be able to tolerate the other assholes in the industry. Small town New York was more my speed. It’s great though, I’m grateful for the opportunities. It’s the dream, you know?”

She nodded through his spiel of it. He always had done most of the talking. He had big ideas and big plans, and it surprised her that he preferred the smallness of Albany. “It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

He looked at her for a moment, in a sort of deeper way that surpassed the lightness of the teasing glances and laughter. The glisten in his eyes that she loved so much never left. She glanced away, embarrassed for the butterflies that fluttered because of it.

“More shots, yeah?”

“Definitely.”

***

The drunker she got, the easier it became to fall into the familiarity of their childhood. The inside jokes resurfaced and the old stories slurred out.

“Wanna get out of here? My hotel room is like, crazy nice.” He definitely had a much higher tolerance than she had, so she’d stopped drinking about a half hour ago. Yet he had kept taking shots, was that the alcohol talking? She blinked for a second and nodded, grinning.

In retrospect, after crushing on someone for your entire life, the first time you sleep with them shouldn’t be after getting wasted at the bar. But just like every ounce of nervousness left as she tossed back shots, so had every shit she gave about it.

“Is that a joke.” He half mumbled, half slurred as he squinted down at his phone.

“Lemme see.” She pulled his arm to peek over and saw a 30 minute wait for the next uber. Her eyes widened and she laughed. “I’ve literally never seen that before. It’s not that far of a walk it looks like.”

“Yeah it’d be faster to walk, wouldn’t it?” He grinned down at her took her hand. “We’ll make an adventure out of it, Mal.”

They laughed and rambled on about drunken thoughts and stories that they had yet to hear about each others lives post Stiles’ fame… his were undeniably interesting and hers were, well, about as mundane as it got. He still took every bit of interest in them, and for some reason in her drunken mind, despite feeling like his life was so much more exciting, it made her happy.

It started to rain somewhere towards the end of their walk, and they ended up running through a downpour through the doors of the hotel. Out of breath and laughing, she leaned back against the cool metal of the handrail in the elevator. Stiles pressed the button for the 12th floor.

“Of course you’re on the top fl-“ He cut her off, taking her face between his hands and pressing his lips to hers. She inhaled sharply, the scent of his cologne and the vodka flooding her nose as she kissed him back.

As it reached the second floor, the otherwise silent elevator beeped and he pulled away, water dripping from his soaking wet hair onto her face.

“I’ve wanted to do that,” He paused, his mouth still inches from hers as he stared into her eyes. “For a very long time.”

“Then why stop?” She muttered out as she closed the gap between them, shutting her eyes again and this time pulling him close to her. She wove her fingers through the hair by his nape and kissed him hard.

The elevator doors opened and she sighed as he pulled away from her. He took her hand and led her down the hall, stopping at one of the farthest doors and fumbling with the room key before finally being able to slide it through.

Stiles opened the door and tugged her inside. “C’mere.” He said in a gravely voice, almost a growl. His eyes were hungry as he searched for her mouth in the darkness. She complied. She couldn’t be close enough to him, actually. His hands moved underneath her shirt and she took a step back for just a moment, pulling the wet material over her head.

She immediately moved towards him again, but he stopped her, gently taking her arm and taking a breath.

“God, you are beautiful.” His eyes met hers and he pulled her back close, kissing down her face and onto her neck, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

In a matter of seconds they had fallen back onto the bed, the rest of their clothes scattered along the floor. His skin was so hot that the droplets of rain were warm against her own. Their breaths came in small pants, hands traveling and kisses wandering.

It was everything she’d dreamed of all those years; The boy with the messy hair and ambitions far greater than she would ever be.

 

 


End file.
